Zero Trust Access Policy

{
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
  "$id": "https://github.com/api-evangelist/zero-trust-architecture/blob/main/json-schema/zero-trust-architecture-policy-schema.json",
  "title": "Zero Trust Access Policy",
  "description": "JSON Schema representing a Zero Trust access policy evaluated by a Policy Decision Point (PDP) per NIST SP 800-207.",
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "policyId": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Unique identifier for this access policy.",
      "examples": ["ztpol-001", "api-access-policy-v2"]
    },
    "name": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Human-readable name of the policy.",
      "examples": ["API Gateway Least-Privilege Policy", "Remote Worker Cloud Access"]
    },
    "description": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Description of the policy's purpose and scope."
    },
    "version": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Policy version in semantic versioning format.",
      "examples": ["1.0.0", "2.3.1"]
    },
    "effect": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Whether the policy allows or denies access.",
      "enum": ["allow", "deny"],
      "examples": ["allow"]
    },
    "subjects": {
      "type": "array",
      "description": "Principals (users, service accounts, workloads) this policy applies to.",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "type": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Type of principal.",
            "enum": ["user", "group", "service-account", "workload", "device"]
          },
          "id": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Identifier for the principal.",
            "examples": ["alice@example.com", "spiffe://example.com/ns/default/sa/api-server"]
          },
          "attributes": {
            "type": "object",
            "description": "Additional attributes for context-aware evaluation.",
            "additionalProperties": true
          }
        },
        "required": ["type", "id"]
      }
    },
    "resources": {
      "type": "array",
      "description": "Resources this policy governs access to.",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "type": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Type of resource.",
            "enum": ["api", "database", "storage", "application", "network-segment", "kubernetes-namespace"]
          },
          "id": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Resource identifier.",
            "examples": ["https://api.example.com/v1/payments", "arn:aws:s3:::sensitive-bucket"]
          },
          "actions": {
            "type": "array",
            "description": "Permitted HTTP methods or operations.",
            "items": {
              "type": "string"
            },
            "examples": [["GET", "POST"], ["read", "list"]]
          }
        },
        "required": ["type", "id"]
      }
    },
    "conditions": {
      "type": "object",
      "description": "Contextual conditions that must be satisfied for the policy to apply.",
      "properties": {
        "devicePosture": {
          "type": "object",
          "description": "Device health and compliance requirements.",
          "properties": {
            "managed": {
              "type": "boolean",
              "description": "Device must be enterprise-managed."
            },
            "encryptionEnabled": {
              "type": "boolean",
              "description": "Device disk encryption must be enabled."
            },
            "osVersion": {
              "type": "string",
              "description": "Minimum required OS version.",
              "examples": ["Windows 11", "macOS 14.0"]
            },
            "edrInstalled": {
              "type": "boolean",
              "description": "Endpoint detection and response agent must be installed."
            }
          }
        },
        "network": {
          "type": "object",
          "description": "Network location constraints.",
          "properties": {
            "allowedIpRanges": {
              "type": "array",
              "description": "CIDR ranges from which access is permitted.",
              "items": {
                "type": "string",
                "examples": ["10.0.0.0/8", "203.0.113.0/24"]
              }
            },
            "requireVpn": {
              "type": "boolean",
              "description": "Whether VPN or ZTNA tunnel is required.",
              "default": false
            }
          }
        },
        "time": {
          "type": "object",
          "description": "Time-based access restrictions.",
          "properties": {
            "allowedHours": {
              "type": "string",
              "description": "Cron-style or ISO 8601 interval specifying permitted access windows.",
              "examples": ["09:00-17:00 UTC", "Mon-Fri 08:00-20:00 EST"]
            }
          }
        },
        "riskScore": {
          "type": "object",
          "description": "Risk-based access threshold from continuous monitoring.",
          "properties": {
            "maxScore": {
              "type": "integer",
              "description": "Maximum acceptable risk score (0-100).",
              "minimum": 0,
              "maximum": 100,
              "examples": [40]
            }
          }
        },
        "authenticationStrength": {
          "type": "string",
          "description": "Required authentication assurance level.",
          "enum": ["password", "mfa", "phishing-resistant-mfa", "hardware-token"],
          "examples": ["phishing-resistant-mfa"]
        }
      }
    },
    "enforcementMode": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Whether the policy is actively enforced or in audit-only mode.",
      "enum": ["enforce", "audit", "disabled"],
      "default": "enforce"
    },
    "created": {
      "type": "string",
      "format": "date",
      "description": "Date the policy was created.",
      "examples": ["2026-05-03"]
    },
    "modified": {
      "type": "string",
      "format": "date",
      "description": "Date the policy was last modified.",
      "examples": ["2026-05-03"]
    },
    "owner": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Team or individual responsible for this policy.",
      "examples": ["security-team@example.com"]
    }
  },
  "required": ["policyId", "name", "effect", "subjects", "resources"]
}